Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546635
20 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 SEPTEMBER 2026 NEWS BACK ON TVM FROM OCTOBER MA' SAVIOUR BALZAN FROM THURSDAY 1 OCTOBER 2026 AT 10.15PM ON TVM Factory proposal seeks to bring Mosta ODZ land into development zone A planning control application has been filed seeking to bring an agricultural site in Tal-Pantar, Mosta, which is currently located outside the Development Zone (ODZ), within the development zone to facilitate its development into a factory. The application concerns 3,050sq.m of land along Triq it-Torba and was submitted by Carmel Portanier Mifsud, who de- clared he is not the sole owner of the site and said the other owners had been notified. The site lies on ODZ land but is located close to an existing area of containment, where industrial and commercial development is already permitted. The surround- ing area includes the Pama super- market, the Nestlé stores and con- sumer centre and OK Home. The application explicitly seeks to alter the development bounda- ry to facilitate industrial develop- ment on what is currently agricul- tural land. However, the Planning Author- ity has consistently maintained that planning control applications cannot be used to rezone land from ODZ land to developable land. Planning control applications are intended to make limited changes to planning schemes, such as ad- justing building alignments, mod- ifying road layouts or changing development parameters for land that already falls within estab- lished development boundaries. Altering the extent of develop- ment zones requires a formal re- view of local plans approved by parliament rather than a private rezoning request. The authority has relied on this interpretation to refuse a number of similar applications over recent years in which landowners sought to have ODZ sites incorporat- ed into the development zone through the planning control pro- cess. The latest application never- theless revives the debate over whether private applicants should be able to seek changes to land- use zoning. Last year, the government pro- posed amendments to planning legislation that would have al- lowed planning control applica- tions to change a site's "land use classification", including for ODZ land. The proposal raised concerns that it could open the door to private re- zoning requests affecting ODZ land. However, the bill lapsed when parliament was dissolved ahead of the general election and has not been reintroduced. Reporting by James Debono The application concerns undeveloped land close to the Nestle head office in Mosta